Chapter Thirty-Three: Drowning Sorrows in Wine (Please Collect)

  Huang Li sat calmly in the chair, pointed to the bed and said: "This bed is very soft, may make you feel not too comfortable?"

  "It's actually not that soft." Zhen Niang sat on the edge of the bed, pressed down with her hand and said in a low voice.

  "From one environment to another, there's always a process of adaptation." Huang Li smiled self-deprecatingly and said: "As for me, I'm actually similar to you, here or there, everything is unfamiliar to me. But escaping isn't the solution, if we want to live, we have to face it and adapt. Zhen Niang, are you listening to what I'm saying?"

  Zhen Niang raised her head and looked at him, nodding slightly. She seemed to be listening, but she was skeptical about whether she could do it herself.

  "Don't worry, I'll make sure you and Niu Niu are well taken care of before I leave." Huang Li hesitated for a moment, then continued: "I'll also visit you often, and I've asked friends on the other side to keep an eye out. If it's safe, maybe you and Niu Niu can return again."

  This statement is half true and half false, even Huang Li doubts whether it can really be done. Settling down is a word that can be extended and played with. Renting a house and leaving some money for them can barely be considered as settling; not only renting a house and leaving money but also finding a good career for them to live a worry-free life afterwards, this is also a kind of settlement. To what extent it can be done, Huang Li is actually not sure either.

  But his words were a comfort, an encouragement and a promise. They effectively dispelled Zhen Niang's worries, allowing her to have the courage to live and adapt more quickly to the unfamiliar environment.

  "Thank you, Brother Huang." Zhen Niang was somewhat moved, lifted her head and smiled slightly, a rare sight.

  The light in the house had already dimmed, and Huang Li stood up and said: "Let's go, let's go out to eat first. Ah Lai has inquired that the boat to Tianjin will only be available three days later."

  One day, three days, or immediately, it seems to make no big difference to Zhen Niang. Although she has been encouraged with some courage for life, it is in front of the calendar. Without the calendar, her inherent timidity and shyness would not even dare her to leave the house door.

  The gentle evening breeze blew softly and coolly, the daytime hustle and bustle had subsided a lot, and the streets had already lit up with pale blue streetlights. Alai led them to a restaurant within a mile of the hotel. The restaurant was decorated in a colorful and lively manner, but the colors were too gaudy and garish, making it look somewhat tacky.

  Huang Li originally wanted to invite Ah Lai to eat together, but as they walked, he changed his mind. Zhen Niang was too shy, and with a stranger at the table, she might not even be able to finish her meal. So when they arrived at the restaurant entrance, he gave Ah Lai a dollar and sent him off.

  There were not many guests in the restaurant, and each table was separated by a screen, which made Huang Li feel quite satisfied. He didn't ask for a seat, but instead found a relatively quiet table.

  "This table is quiet, sir and madam, please sit down." The waiter's partner was wiping the table with a whirlwind-like motion, and the table shone so brightly that it almost reflected people's shadows.

  Huang Li didn't say a word, picked up the menu and started looking at it. A lone man and woman, with a child in tow, no wonder people misunderstood, can't explain to anyone that we're not husband and wife, but siblings!

  "This is our home-cooked meal, all kinds of stir-fries are available, and the craftsmanship is unparalleled. Among so many households near and far, none can compare to ours. Sir, madam, please take care of us from now on." The shop assistant's words flowed out of his mouth like a string of pearls, as smooth as if his lips had been greased with honey.

  Huang Li looked up at Zhen Niang, who quickly shook her head. The meaning was clear: she didn't want to order and wouldn't know how to anyway.

  Ordered four dishes, a soup, and Huang Li also asked for a pot of the hotel's own brewed specialty rice wine.

  Before long, the waiter came running over with a small dish, chopsticks and wine cup in one hand, and a wine jug in the other, carrying a plate of boiled peanuts, like an opera singer on stage, running around to the front of the table.

  "Sir, madam, try some of our local dishes, five-spice peanuts. If you don't like it, don't pay for it, I'll take care of it! What I mean is that the dish you ordered will be a little while longer, don't just sit there, drink slowly first." The waiter said with a smile on his face as he set the chopsticks and plates.

  Huang Li smiled and nodded in approval, secretly praising this clever plan that knew how to make a profit.

  At this time, guests at a nearby table called out, and the waiter nodded towards Huang Li and ran over.

  "This fellow is really clever." Huang Li picked up the wine jug and first poured a cup for Zhen Niang, saying: "You also have a drink, millet wine has a low degree, it won't get you drunk."

  "Huang Dagei, you drink it yourself, I won't drink." Zhen Niang frowned and said in a low voice.

  Huang Li gently placed the wine cup in front of Zhen Niang, then picked up the chopsticks and dipped them in wine, sending it to Niu Niu's mouth. Niu Niu savored the flavor, pouted and said: "It's a bit spicy." After finishing, she stretched out her hand to grab some peanuts to eat.

  "Zhen Niang, you will eventually have to live with the child on your own, this temper of yours needs to change!" Huang Li said solemnly: "Of course, this isn't something that can be done in a day or two, let's not rush it, take it slow. Think about it, later you'll need to buy groceries, need to buy rice, need to do some business to make money, and you can't avoid going out in public, with a personality as timid and shy as yours, how will that work?"

  Zhen Niang lowered her head, although she felt that Huang Li's words were reasonable, but she felt very wronged. Originally good and simple mountain village life was suddenly disrupted, the family was broken and people died, and they had to leave their hometown and enter a strange and terrifying environment. Thinking of this, her eyes were red again, and she held back tears, picked up the wine cup, and slowly drank it down.

  A warm current rose from her abdomen, Zhen Niang blinked, with a strange feeling. Sorrow and wine are both born enemies and born lovers. Wine can temporarily dissolve sorrow, making people temporarily forget their sorrows or turn them into generosity, so the two are mutually incompatible; but wine can also make sorrow enter an aesthetic state, turning sorrowful thoughts into beautiful feelings, allowing people to temporarily escape from real-life troubles and gain a true experience of life, so the two also promote each other.

  Huang Li refilled her glass with wine, only saying "drink slowly", but didn't stop her from drinking again. Perhaps he thought that getting drunk could relieve a thousand worries, or maybe he believed that wine could temporarily numb the pain in her heart.

  Zhen Niang got drunk, the rice wine tasted sweet at first but had a strong aftereffect. After leaving the restaurant, she was blown by the wind and became dizzy.

  The calendar half-supports and half-embraces, He Zhen Niang and Niu Niu returned to the hotel, with a flushed face, dizzy and confused, Zhen Niang was hugged onto the bed, gently covering her with a quilt, then watching Niu Niu crawl into the quilt, before retreating out, closing the door.

  Lying in bed, Huang Li couldn't fall asleep for a long time. He had hoped that coming to the big city would allow him to find some familiar feelings and memories, but things didn't go as he wished, and he still felt like a stranger. Everything seemed to require readjustment, without a hint of familiarity, just like when he was in the mountain valley before.

  It is unknown how much time had passed before Huang Li finally fell into a dreamland in a daze, perhaps only there could he find the impression of the original world, both illusory and real.

  ………